The essay has a 750-word minimum length. It must include a Works Cited page, and citations must be in MLA format. The Works Cited page should be a separate page following the end of the main essay. The Works Cited page must contain all sources that appear in the essay, and should not contain any sources that do not appear in the essay.

This is a research paper. The essay must contain at least two appropriate research sources. The source material must be relevant (see below) to your material and help explain or support what you are saying; must be incorporated properly so that the purpose of using the sources is clear; and must be cited properly within the text.

RELEVANCE:

It must be clear how the research material you use helps explain or support what you are saying in some way that is useful or necessary. That means you must tell us what it means and why it is important.

Do not use research sources or quotes to state commonly known or inarguable facts.

Do not use quotes that come from Wikiquote or any other “quotation-aggregator.” If you use a quote from anyone, you must know what they meant when they said it, and your source citation must be either the actual original source or another reputable/meaningful source that used it.

Dictionary definitions, encyclopedia entries, and Wikipedia entries do not count as research and should never be cited. (Wikipedia entries can be very useful for general information, but you must then follow their links to find original sources – never use Wikipedia as a cited source.) “School-note” sites such as Schmoop, SparkNotes, etc. cannot be used or cited as research. Free-essay sites such as 123helpme also cannot be used and should never be part of your essay in any way.

You should know and be able to explain why you are using a source and how it is helpful to your argument. If you use a quotation from a source, you should be able to explain why it was helpful or necessary to use the exact words, rather than paraphrasing or summarizing.

You may use magazines, newspapers, books, blogs, podcasts, videos, or anything else that is authoritative and relevant. Be aware of when you are using factual information, analysis, or opinion. Do not include any source material or quotes without making clear to the reader what they are supposed to tell us. You may use what we have talked and written about previously in this course as reference and argument material if you think doing so is relevant – I am thinking here particularly of the film SURFWISE. If you use any of this material, it must be cited as a source in MLA format.

Please read the following statement. After the statement, there is a prompt in the form of a question. Please respond to that prompt. Your essay must take a definite position, which must be stated in a clear thesis statement that includes both the position and some sense of the reason for taking that position. The thesis statement does not have to be in the first paragraph. The essay should explain and argue for your position on the issue.

“I believe that extolling the pursuit of happiness was a toxic stupidity entirely unworthy of . . . Thomas Jefferson. Indeed, it is a poison that sickens our culture more wretchedly every nanosecond. I wish he’d never said it. . . . It produces a monstrous, insatiable hunger inside our national psyche that encourages us ever more ravenously to devour all the resources of this small planet, crushing liberties, snuffing lives, feeling ourselves ordained by God and Jefferson to do whatever is necessary to make us happy.” — John Perry Barlow, 2002

Prompt: Do you agree or disagree with Barlow? Was Jefferson wrong to enshrine this as one of the three “inalienable rights”?